Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of South Dakota and is administered by the U.S.

Their agricultural practices depleted wildlife habitat and caused a severe decline in waterfowl numbers.

As a "large freshwater cattail marsh", it was selected as a refuge due to being a "critical nesting and staging habitat" for numerous species of birds, including tens of thousands of migrating waterfowl.

WildBird Magazine called Sand Lake one of North America's top 15 sites for bird watching.

The lakes were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the New Deal Era, as they built dams on local rivers.